Drop-leaf table



Nov. 29, 1955 M. G. PIERSON DROP-LEAF TABLE Filed Aug. 12, 1954 Mew/i76. p/erka/y 17M A WOREE )4 lllm,

United States Patent Ofi ice 2,725,268 Patented Nov. 29, 1955 DROP-LEAFTABLE Merlin G. Pierson, Gatzke, Minn.

Application August 12, 1954, Serial No. 449,362

Claims. 7 (Cl. 311-62) This invention relates in general to furniture,and refers more particularly to a novel construction for drop leaftables and similar articles.

It is a primary Object of my invention to provide a table having anattached drop leaf which, when raised to its up or level dispositionwherein it forms a continuation of the top, causes an auxiliary leg. tomove outwardly with respect to the central support and under the leaf toprovide means for resisting tipping of the table when the drop leaf isloaded. In this connection, an important feature of my invention residesin the manner of connection of the leg with the central pedestal of thetable so that movement of the leg is restricted to pivotal movementabout a fixed axis. By providing for simple rotation of the leg, themember of moving parts is reduced to a minimum and there issubstantially less wear and tear on the bearing surfaces than in morecomplex structures known to the aft.

Another object of the invention is to provide a drop leaf table of thecharacter described in which the means tying the leg and leaf togetherfor simultaneous motion also serves as a brace for the leaf in its upposition. According to the invention, the leaf and leg are so tiedtogether by the brace means that retraction of both the leg and thebracetakes place when the leaf is folded. A feature of the invention in thisrespect resides in the manner of construction of the brace and thefashion in which it is connected with the respective elements.

A further object of the invention is to provide a drop leaf table of thecharatcer described in which the stationary central pedestal of thetable provides a housing for the leg and drop leaf bracing structurewhen the drop leaf is down and the leg in a retracted position. As aresult, the leg and brace mechanism are concealed from view thuspreserving a pleasing appearance.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a drop leafconstruction which is readily adaptable to both solid and expandable toptables.

Another object is to provide a drop leaf and extension leg arrangementfor tables in which the auxiliary leg, when in its extended position,operates to prevent tipping of the table and yet is so disposed withrespect to the edge of the table as to permit those using the table tosit up to the edge with a minimum of interference with the legs andfeet.

A further'object is to provide a novel latching mechanism for the dropleaf and auxiliary leg which can be released With ease, and yet whichpermits the table to be moved about freely without danger of collapse.In this connection, it is a further object to provide a latchingmechanism which is self-engaging upon movement of the leaf to the upposition.

Other and further objects, together with the features of noveltyappurtenant thereto, will appear in the course of the followingdescription.

.Inthe accompanying drawing, which forms a part of and is to be read inconjunction with the accompanying specification, and in which likereference numerals indicate like parts in the various views:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a table embodying my invention showing oneleaf in the down position and one leaf in the up position, parts beingin section and parts broken away for purposes of illustration;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation showing the leaf in the up position;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view from inside the pedestal showing thedetails of the latching mechanism, parts being broken away to indicatelength; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the underside of the leaf in the area of thelatch release trip mechanism.

Referring to the drawing, and particularly to Figs. l and 2, referencenumeral 10 indicates generally a flat rectangular table top which issupported substantially at its center by an upright pedestal structurecomprising two hollow rectangular members 12. In the illustratedembodiment, the top is carried on a rail structure 13 supported on theupper end of the pedestal members 12. Diagonal legs 14 are secured tothe opposite sides of the pedestal sections 12.

Pivotally connected with the edge of the rail structure 13 about axes 15on opposing edges of the table are drop leaves 16. Preferably each leaf16 is equal in width with the width of the table top 16), and each iscapable of being swung from a horizontal position in which it forms anextension of the top to a vertical position adjacent its respectivepedestal 12.

To support each leaf 16 in its up or horizontal position, there isprovided a diagonal brace element generally indicated at 17 which ispivoted at one end to the underside of the leaf 16 and at the other endto the top of an extension leg 19. As is best seen in Figs. 2 and 3, thebrace 17 is preferably formed of two spaced parallel members 20. Theupper ends of these members are pivotally connected with the drop leaf16 through vertically disposed flange members 21 which are secured tothe underside of the leaf and spaced equally with the brace members 20.Hinge straps 22 and 23 are secured respectively to the flanges 21 andbrace members 20, and binge pins 24 secure the two together in pivotalrelationship.

The manner of connection of the brace members 20 at their lower endswith the extension leg 19 is best'seen in Figs. 1 and 3. The leg 19 isbacked on its inner end with a metal plate 25 a'liixed to the leg bymeans of screws 26. The upper end of the plate 25 has formed thereon asleeve 25a through which extends a pintle 26. Straps 27 are secured tothe upper edges of the respective brace members 20, and these strapshave their extending ends curled to form sleeves 27a which fit over andare preferably keyed to the pintle 26. The brace member-s 20 are spacedfrom one another a distance sufiicient to permit the leg 19 to passtherebetween upon relative movement of the leg and brace members withrespect to the pintle 26.

The metal plate 25 also provides, in the illustrated embodiment, themeans by which the leg 19 is pivotally connected with its pedestalmember 12. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the inner end of the leg 19 ispositioned in an aperture in the face of the pedestal member 12 havingvertical edges 28 and a bottom edge 29. A hinge strap 30 (also see Fig.3) is secured to the inside wall of the member 12 adjacent the bottomedge 29 of the opening. The strap 30 is provided with spaced pinreceiving lugs 30a, and disposed between the lugs 30a is a sleeve 25bformed at the lower edge of the plate 25. A pintle 31 passes through thelugs 30a and sleeve 25b to form the hinge connection of the leg 19 withthe table. Y

It will be noted that located above the aperture in which leg 19 isreceived, and forming an'enlarged continuation thereof, is a secondaperture having vertical parallel edges 32. This second aperture isslightly wider than the width of the brace element 17 (from outside edgeto outside edge of the members 20), and terminates at its upper endadjacent the underside of the table top 10. As will be hereinafterdescribed, the apertures in the member 12 provide the necessary entryand exit for the brace 17 and leg 19 into the hollow interior of thepedestal members 12.

From the description thus far, it will be understood that the leaf 16,brace 17 (comprising the spaced members 20), and leg 19 are so connectedwith one another that upon movement of the leaf from its up position toits down or depending vertical position, the respective parts assume thepositions shown in the broken lines in Figs. 1. In the down position,the leaf is indicated at 16, the brace at 17' and the leg at 19. As theleaf 16 descends about its pivot 15, the brace 17 exerts acounterclockwise turning moment on the leg 19, and the leg rotates aboutits axis 31. At the same time the brace 17 moves inwardly through theaperture in the pedestal member 12 defined by edges 32. It will beevident from the drawing that at one point in the movement, the tip ofthe retracting leg 19 passes between the brace members 23.

A novel feature of my invention resides in the means I have developedfor locking the leaf 16 in the up or horizontal position. As shown inFig. 3, secured to the plate 25 and thus to the leg 19 is a bar 33pivoted about a central pin 34 for movement about an axis substantiallynormal to the plane of plate 25. The bar 33 is spaced away from theplate a distance sufiicient to clear the sleeves 27a at the ends of thebrace members it) so that it is capable of unimpeded pivotal motionabout pin 34. A curved leaf spring 35 engages the bar 33 on one side ofpin 34, the other end of the spring bearing against a pin 36 atfixed toplate 25, and a stop pin 37 is provided for engaging the underside ofthe bar on that side of pin 34 opposite from spring 35. As will beevident, the bar 33 is thus normally maintained in a substantiallyhorizontal position by the spring 35, but is capable of being pivotedagainst the action of the spring in a counterclockwise direction.

As shown by the broken lines in Fig. 2, the ends of the bar 33 projectlaterally beyond the brace members 20. The ends bear inwardly againststops 38 and 39, respectively, which are formed as vertical projectionson bracket members 44) and 41. The brackets 40 and 41 are rigidlysecured to the opposite inside walls of the pedestal member 12 by screws42, and are so spaced as to peimit movement of the brace members 20 andlegs 19 therebetween.

Referring particularly to Fig. 3, the stops 38 and 39 are formed astriangularly shaped vertical flanges. The left hand stop 38 is solocated as to engage the upper half of its adjacent end of the bar 33,and conversely, stop 39 engages the lower half of the opposite end. Thisefiectively prevents the downward pivoting of the leaf 16, the stops 3%and 39 serving as thrust members which act against the bar 33 to preventrotation of the leg 19 to which the brace members 20 for the leaf areconnected.

Release of the latch mechanism is accomplished by pivoting the bar 33about its axis 34 in a counterclockwise direction until the upper edgeof the bar at the left end clears the point of stop 33 and the loweredge at the right end is lifted above the point of the stop 39. Once thebar has been disengaged from the stops, the leg 19 is free to pivotinwardly about its axis 31, and the leaf can be lowered as has beenhereinbefore described.

The disengagement of the bar 33 from the stops 38 and 33 is accomplishedthrough a pull trip member 43 which is located on the underside of theleaf 16 near its outer edge. The trip member 43 is L-shaped inconstruction, having a flat portion 43a which is connected for slidingmovement with a channel member 44 secured to the underside of the leaf,and has afiixed thereto a pull 4 rod 45 extending inwardly toward thetop 10 between the brace flange members 21. The inner end of the pullrod 45 (see Fig. 3) is pivotally connected with an L-shaped crank arm 46adapted to rotate a shaft 47 which is supported on the underside of therail structure 13 by journals 43. A second crank arm 49 is formed on theopposite end of shaft 47 from the L-shaped crank 46, and arm 49 ispivotally connected at its outer end with a vertically disposed push rod59. The rod 50 extends downwardly adjacent the inside surface of thehollow pedestal member 12 and terminates in a bent portion 50a which isadapted to engage the upper edge of the left-hand end (as seen in Fig.3) of the latching bar 33.

As is best seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the trip member 43 is provided with anauxiliary lock mechanism which prevents accidental tripping. Thiscomprises a pivotal member 51 connected with the plate 43a of the tripmember 43. The member 51 is generally L-shaped in construction and ispivotally hung between two spaced downwardly extending flanges 52secured to the plate portion 43a of the trip member 43 and straddlingthe central elongated slot 43b. The member 51 is supported by a pivotpin 53 connected with the flanges 52, and its horizontally disposed legis provided with an upwardly projecting detent 51a which engages akeeper recess 54 in the web of the channel 44 through the slot 43b tonormally prevent relative sliding movement between the trip member 43and the channel 44.

To release the trip member 43 and thus permit it to be pulled outwardlytoward the edge of the table, the operator need only engage the verticaldepending leg of the member 51 and pull outwardly. This disengages thedetent dirt from the recess 54, and frees the trip member 43 formovement. Once clear of the recess .54, it will be evident that detent51a will ride freely along the surface of the channel 44 until the tripmember 43 is returned to its original position whence it again is forcedby the gravity pull on the member 51 to advance into the recess.

The pulling of the trip member 43, once the auxiliary lock 51 has beendisengaged, causes rod 45 to move outwardly thus turning crank arm 46and with it shaft 47. This in turn causes the arm 49 to pivot downwardlyand exert a downward thrust through push rod 50 on the end of thelatching bar 33. This thrust causes the bar 33 to pivot a sufficientdistance to disengage the bar from the stops 38 and 39, and the leaf 16is free to drop to its down position.

Upon lifting of the leaf 16, the latch bar 33 re-engages with the stops38 and 39 automatically. As the bar approaches the stops 38 and 39, theedges of the bar are engaged by the inclined surfaces on the stops.Further movement causes the bar to pivot against the action of thespring 36 until the ends of the stops are reached. Once past the ends ofthe stops, the bar 33 snaps back to its original horizontal positionunder the influence of spring 36, and the drop leaf 16 is again lockedin its up position with the leg 19 extended.

It will be noted from Fig. 1 that the point of pivotal connection of thepull rod 45 with the crank arm 46 is located closely adjacent the pivotaxis 15 for the drop leaf 16. This permits free swinging movement of theleaf without any binding in the latching mechanism.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forthtogether with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherentto the structure.

it will be understood that certain features and sub combinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of theclaims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A drop leaf table comprising an upright pedestal, a horizontallydisposed top mounted on said pedestal, a drop leaf pivotally connectedwith said top and movable from a horizontal position in which it formsan extension of the top to a dropped vertical position, an extension legpivotally connected with said pedestal and having a first positionextending outwardly from said pedestal beneath said leaf and a secondposition beneath said top, and linkage connecting said leaf with saidleg to cause said leg to move from said first position to said secondposition upon movement of said leaf from its horizontal position to itsdropped position and to cause said leg to move back to its firstposition upon lifting of the leaf back to its first position.

2. A drop leaf table as in claim 1 including means for releasablylatching said leaf in its horizontal position.

3. A drop leaf table comprising an upright hollow pedestal having anaperture in one vertical side, a horizontal top mounted on said pedestalwith one edge adjacent said one side, a drop leaf pivotally connectedwith said top for movement about a horizontal axis adjacent said oneedge between a horizontal position wherein it forms a continuation ofsaid top to a dropped vertical.

position below said axis and adjacent said one side, an

extension leg having its inner end pivotally connected with saidpedestal for movement about a fixed axis substantially parallel with thepivot axis of the leaf and movable between a first position in whichsaid leg extends outwardly from said pedestal beneath said leaf to asecond position within said pedestal, said leg passing through saidaperture upon movement from one position to the other, and brace meansconnecting said leaf with said leg at points remote from theirrespective pivot axes and tying said leaf and leg together forsimultaneous movement from their respective horizontal and firstpositions to their dropped and second positions and back again, saidaperture being formed to permit passage through said one side of saidbrace means.

4. A table as in claim 3 wherein said leaf in its dropped positioncovers said aperture.

5. A table as in claim 3 including means for releasably latching saidleaf in its horizontal position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS687,081 Thomas Nov. 19, 1901 989,813 Schumacher Apr. 18, 1911 1,854,981Caverly Apr. 19, 1932 1,899,835 Thum .d Feb. 28, 1933 1,993,787 HoweMar. 12, 1935

